More than a Dream
by Fiery Shadow
Summary: (AU)Misao is having dreams that feel too real for her comfort. Enter the mysterious Aoshi Shinomori who doesn't make her feel any better. What does he want with her and why does she sometimes feel like he doesn't like her.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer-  I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or the characters

AN:  This is my first fic.  The characters are probably going to be OOC.

Misao tossed and turned in the bed.  It was so hot.  Why wasn't the air conditioner cooling the room off?  A flash of light and the sound of thunder reminded her that the power had gone out long ago.  She flipped onto her back and sighed heavily.  If she didn't get some sleep, she was never going to make it through work the next morning.  She kicked off her sheet and closed her eyes.  Misao was just starting to settle down when she felt the bed give way like someone was sitting down on it.  No one should be sitting on my bed, she thought absent-mindedly.  I live alone.  She felt something move beside her and her eyes popped opened.  She went to sit up but was stopped when her body crashed into another body.  She was pushed back down as the other person moved closer to her and leaned half across her.  

"Hello Misao."  said a cool male voice.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"You know the answer to both those questions."

Misao wanted to scream and start fighting but for some reason she didn't.  She stiffened as he lazily traced the neckline of her nightgown.  He stopped between her breasts and lowered his hand down over her stomach.  He let his finger run around her navel and moved his hand lower.  Just as he was about to slip his hand between her legs, she jerked her knees clothes. Unfortunately all that did was trap his hand there.  Misao opened her mouth to protest but all that came out was a slight moan as he pressed his hand against her.  Little sparks of electricity coursed through her body.  Her mind felt like it was slowly shutting down as he began rubbing her. "DANGER, RUN!"  her mind screamed. 

Misao unlocked her legs rolled onto the floor.  Before she could get up and run for the door, he was in front of her.  She moved backwards until she hit the wall behind her.   As he moved toward her, a picture of a black panther stalking it's prey jumped into her mind.  Well if he's the panther, then I'm the...Misao gasped as she finished the thought to herself...prey.  Why would he want me, she wondered.  I don't even know him.  Exactly who was this man in her room?   She blinked and tired to see a face but all she saw was a tall nicely built silhouette.  The question that truly plagued her was why wasn't she afraid?  He was a strange  man who was touching her in ways that she had never let any other man touch her.  A cold shiver ran down her spine as she realized the answer to her question.  She wasn't afraid because she was turned on.  Misao sighed in both embarrassment and disgust.  How could she want some she didn't know so badly?  But for some confusgin reason, she felt like she did know him.  She closed her eyes and prayed that he'd be gone when she opened them. 

"Must we play these games?"  an irritated voice asked in her head.

Misao felt him kneel in front of her and stare.  She could feel his eyes burning through her just waiting for her to open then.  But she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.  She wanted him gone.  

"I'll leave, even though you don't truly want me too."  he said seductively.

Misao's eyes opened slightly as she heard him start to leave.  Why did she suddenly feel so completely alone?  

Because for the first time in a long time you actually want something and for some dumb reason, you're letting it go.

"Don't."  Misao whispered in surrender as she jumped to her feet.

He turned around and she saw a flash of bright white teeth.  Once again the word prey popped into her mind.  She swallowed and wondered if she had made a mistake.  Before she could change her mind, he closed the distance between them and had her pressed against the wall.  He grabbed the end of her nightgown and pulled it up over her head.  Moving away slightly, he looked at her.  Misao could just imagine how he saw her.  A woman with a boyish figure standing naked against a wall.  Her unruly hair had come loose and was now hanging around her shoulders.  She started to become self-conscience as she felt his eyes roam all over her body.  She went to cover herself but he caught her hands.  He let them go and then moved closer to press his lips against hers.  It was a light teasing kiss at first and then he deepened it to an all out passionate kiss.  Misao pulled him closer to her and her body began tingling all over as she felt how aroused he was.  She opened her mouth and let him slip his tongue in.  His mouth began doing a seductive dance in her mouth.  If he could do this with just his mouth, Misao could only imagine what he could to with his hands.  He caught her tongue in-between his teeth and gently sucked on it.  For some reason that was more erotic to Misao than anything else that he had done.  She felt what tasted like blood fill her mouth, but she didn't care.  Any rational thoughts were pushed aside by an overwhelming need to touch and be touched by him.  

"Traitor!"  a voice suddenly yelled behind them.

Before either of them could react, he was shoved forward against her. Both their eyes widened in shock as something metal was thrust through his back and stomach and into her stomach.  Misao looked down and saw the blood seeping through their wounds.  She thought she saw what were his eyes flash silver and then she stared screaming.

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Misao jerked up and continued screaming.  She placed her hand on her stomach to stop the blood.  She happened to look down and saw that there was none.  She stopped screaming and looked around.  She was in her bed.  Misao placed her heads in her hand and started crying.

"It was just dream."  she said through the tears.

The minute the sword struck him, Aoshi was immediately slammed back into his body.  

"Damn you."  he said with groan. 

The servant who just happened to walk in the room at that moment  thought the groan was a growl aimed at him so he instantly dropped to his knees in apology.

"Please forgive me Lord Aoshi."  he begged.  "I didn't mean to interrupt your connection to the girl."

"You didn't break it."  Aoshi said without thinking.  "She did."

Aoshi got out of his seat and walked over to the window.  Tonight had been very enlightening, even if he had ended up with a sword in his back.  Granted he actually wasn't there, but the thought of being stabbed didn't sit well with him. 

"If it would please you master I'll bring the girl here so you can make her yours."  his servant said.

The servant went pale when Aoshi turned to him and smiled.  His lord rarely smiled and if he did, it usually wasn't a good thing.  

"I'm not going to make her mine."  he said without a trace of emotion.  "I'm going to kill her."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  
Authors Note: I totally forgot about this story. I happened to find it on one of my discs and decided that I wanted to start working on it again. Thanks to everyone who read it and sorry for the long wait. The characters will be OCC. I'm not exactly happy with the title or summery. Anyone got any better ideas?

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A sharp chill running through her body finally woke Misao up. For a second she was confused as to why she was on the couch instead of her bed. Then she remembered not being able to sleep after the dream so she had come out to watch some television. Misao looked at the clock on the wall.

"I'm going to be late for work." she yelled as she jumped up.

She quickly showered, changed and then left. This was the fifth time in a month that she had been late. She prayed that she wouldn't get fired. She and her best friend Karou both worked at an exclusive late night dinner club. Misao hated having to put up with rude, uptight customers who considered her their personal slave but the pay and tips were excellent. Misao burst through the back door of the kitchen at top speed. She waved at Karou, who was starting to get ready, and smiled.

"Makimachi, you're late."

She pasted a smile on her face as she turned to face the head waiter.

"I'm so sorry. My car broke down and I hitchhiked to get here."

Karou covered her mouth to keep from laughing because she knew that Misao didn't have a car.

"That's fine. Since you're late, I'm going to give you table nine."

"But that's old Mr. Macro's table."

"Exactly."

Misao groaned. This was going to be a long night. Mr. Macro had a habit of groping the waitresses but since he was the best tipper, no one really complained. Two hours later, her prediction was proven right. Mr. Macro had brought some lecherous friends. Her ass hurt from all the pinching. And now she was waiting on the customers from hell. Every time she thought they were finished with the order, they'd change it.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"Yes."

Misao was about to walk off when one of the woman at the table called her.

"Excuse me waitress. I want to change my order."

Misao could actually feel herself developing a nervous tic. She bit down on her lip to keep herself from telling the customer exactly where to go. The last thing she needed was to lose her job. Misao took the revised order and then took it to the kitchen.

"Misao are you alright?" Karou asked.

"I'm fine except for those idiots at that table. How hard is it to pick something from the menu and order?"

"Makimachi." the head waiter said as he came into the kitchen. "Your table is looking for you. They said something about a change to the order."

The pencil Misao was holding snapped in two as she balled her hand into a fist.

"That's it." she said. "They've been asking for this."

Before Misao could storm out to the table and cram her notepad down their throats, Karou grabbed the back of her uniform.

"Why don't you go take your break?" she said as she pushed her toward the back door.

"I have a table to take care of." she protested.

"I'll handle them. You need to cool off. Besides, you don't look so good. Maybe some fresh air will make you feel better."

"Thank you. I owe you my life."

"No problem."

Misao walked outside into the chilly night air. It didn't make her feel better. Instead it made her wish that she had a jacket to put on. But she didn't want to go back inside so she wrapped her arms around herself. She leaned against the building and sighed. What was wrong with her? She was all over the place. One minute she was disgustingly happy and then next she was ready to kill someone. Maybe I need some rest and food, she thought. But she knew that wouldn't help. She could barely sleep. As for eating, she didn't. Misao didn't want to admit it, but she knew exactly what was wrong with her. It was that damned dream. It had felt so real that even after she realized it wasn't, she had continued to cry. Who was that man? Why were they stabbed? And who was the person a traitor? The oddest thing is that the dream wasn't the first strange one she had. About a month ago she had started having the dreams. Except for the one last night and the very first one, she could barely remember what they were about. She remembered that the first one started out innocently.

**Dream**  
_Misao was laying down on the grass in a garden. But then a shadow suddenly blocked out her sun. Before she could react, __something was pressed against her throat holding her down. It was weird because despite the force it took to keep her still, it wasn't painful. _

_"Disgusting." a cold feminine voice hissed. "Absolutely disgusting. You're lying there like everything's fine."_

_"Huh?"_

_That's the only thing Misao could get out because she had no idea what was going on._

_"Just look at you. I hate you. I hate what you've become. Weak and pathetic. So much power reduced to nothing. But that'll be rectified once I deal with you. I can't believe I have to waste my strength on this. You shouldn't have to be told. Wake up and see the truth before you get us both killed."  
__Us? Misao barely had time to wonder what she meant by us when the pressure on her neck began increasing. This time it was actually beginning to hurt. The stranger began ranting at her but it was hard to pay attention as it became harder to breathe. She couldn't believe this was happening. Misao didn't want to die. Especially not like this. Not without a fight. She wanted to fight back but for some reason she couldn't seem to. She felt stupid and useless for wishing for someone to come help her. But she didn't want to die. There was still so much she wanted to do._

_Please someone help me. I DON'T WANT TO DIE!_

_Suddenly the woman stopped her ranting and let out a strangled scream. _

_"Stop. Stop, stop it. Stop fighting me."_

_Fighting, Misao thought. She had no idea what the stranger was talking about. She wasn't fighting. Misao was too busy trying to figure out a way to save herself. Above Misao there seemed to be sounds of a struggle, more muffled screams. Just briefly the shadowy form of the woman appeared. There wasn't time enough to recognize her but it was just enough for Misao to see that she was grabbing at her throat as if she was trying to stop someone from choking her. A few seconds later the pressure on her neck was removed. She gasped for air and thanked god that she survived. _

_"You ignorant fool." _

_Misao tensed at the sound of the stranger's voice, which sounded slightly familiar but she couldn't place it.  
__  
"You better learn the difference between friends and enemies. Otherwise, you'll never stand a chance against..."  
_**End Dream**

Her alarm clock went off at that point so Misao never got to hear what was said. For a few minutes after she woke up, it spooked her. Especially since the only words of the rant that stood out enough for her to remember them were, love...betrayal...revenge...death...a never ending cycle. But Misao quickly got over it and passed it off as another one of her "I'm a spy who's going to fall in love with the assassin who's supposed to kill me" dreams. Misao shook her head to stop thinking about the dreams. But she was honest enough with herself to know that it wasn't the just dreams bothering her. Around the same time the dreams began, she started noticing weird differences between some people. She could never put her finger on what was different, she just knew that they were. The thing that really shook her up was what happened a few days ago. She was dressing a mannequin in the store window of her part time job when she noticed a man staring at her. She waved to him but all he did was move closer to the glass. Misao left the window for a few minutes and when she came back another man and a woman were there. She tried to ignore them but she could feel them all staring at her. For some strange reason she walked closer to the window and looked back at them. Something about the trio made Misao feel weird so she frowned. To her surprise, they took off running. After a few seconds of complete confusion, Misao went back to work. She had put them out of her mind until she saw them again later that afternoon. She was eating a late lunch with some people from work when they just seemed to appear in front of her. Having them stare at her again was creepy but no one else noticing them was downright terrifying. Misao wanted to pretend that other people saw them but couldn't. Three incredibly weird people were standing directly in front of the table staring at her yet no one reacted. In fact they kept on talking like everything was perfectly normal. No, only she could see them. She opened her mouth to say something but everything seemed to fade away and the only thing visible was herself and the other three.

"What the hell is going on here?"

She hadn't meant to say that but she needed to know what was going on. The girl suddenly turned her head and looked in Misao's direction. Misao watched the girl's mouth open slightly in shock. Then a second later the girl's shock turned to fear. Before Misao could question why she was looking at her with fear, a flash of light appeared behind the three. Without being able to see it, Misao knew that it was a sword. The sword was raised up and then brought down. Misao shook her head no and quickly closed her eyes to avoid seeing the blow that she knew was coming. Unfortunately that didn't block the feel of the blood splattering on her face. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. Her mind began screaming for her to run but to do that she would have to open her eyes. I don't want to see their bodies, she thought to herself. But I don't want to stay either. I could be next. Knowing that she'd rather run, Misao opened her eyes and gasped. She found herself staring at her friends and a waiter who were standing over her. They helped her up and informed her that she had spaced out for about five minutes. Then she suddenly said "it is necessary" and passed out. Misao smiled slightly when she found out that the blood she felt was actually water being sprinkled on her face to wake her up. Just remembering that caused a chill to go down her spine. That had felt way too real to be just a dream. The sound of the sword cutting through the air, the screams, the smell of the warm blood. She shivered. She doubted she would ever be able to pass it off as just a dream. Then what was it? An illusion? Delusion? Effects of the cold medicine she took? Or was she just making more out of what in the end was just an extremely vivid dream? Misao sighed deeply. That's probably exactly what it was. A stupid yet vivid dream. Somewhere in the back of her mind a voice whispered denial. Enough of this doom and gloom, she thought to herself. What I need is a vacation to somewhere hot. A smile slowly formed on her face.

"I can see it now. Three weeks of nothing except laying on the beach drinking cocktails served by two incredibly hot, half naked waiters." she said out loud to herself.

"That's all well and good Makimachi but right now you're the one who should be serving." said the head waiter as he stuck his head out the back door. "Get back to work before you don't have a job."

With a sigh, she went back to work.

.A few hours later, Misao silently thanked the heavens that her shift was over. They had been incredibly busy so now she was tired, sore, and completely fed up with the assholes they called customers. She pulled on her coat and was just about to leave when Karou came up to her.

"Where are you going?" Karou asked.

"Home to get some sleep."

"If you stay for awhile, you can meet Kenshin. He's taking me out to breakfast."

"Oh, so I finally get to meet the elusive Kenshin Himura. But the timing couldn't be worse. I've got a job interview at eight and I really need to get catch a nap."

"You don't have to stay. I just want you to meet him."

"I've been trying to meet him, but you two keep canceling."

"It's not my fault. Kenshin is always busy." she said with a smile. "Meet him and then we can gossip about him later."

Karou seemed so happy that Misao couldn't say no.

"I'll stay. You've got it bad don't you?"

"Yes. It's just so weird. It feels like I've known him forever."

They continued talking until Karou suddenly started primping herself.

"Here he comes. Do I look okay?"

"You look fine." Misao said with a smile.

"And so does he. Look at him. He's so sexy."

"He's short." she whispered to Karou.

Karou elbowed her in the ribs. Misao laughed and looked at him again. Despite being short, he was indeed very sexy. He had gorgeous violet eyes and flaming red hair. He also had this sexy cross shaped scar on his cheek. She wondered how he got it. Once they were close enough, Karou gave him a hug and then kissed him. Misao had to admit that they made a cute couple.

"Misao, this is Kenshin Himura. Kenshin, this is my best friend Misao Makimachi."

Misao reached out and shook his hand. A strange feeling enveloped her and then she was hit with an overwhelming sense of deja vu. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to his hair. For the strangest reason Misao felt compelled to touch it. She reached out and grabbed a lock between her fingers. Once again a sense of deja vu over came her, only much stronger this time.

_"You have such beautiful hair. It's so unusual. So vivid. Red. Like fire or..." _

"Blood." she whispered softly.

She felt Kenshin stiffen. Misao didn't blame him. She was basically a stranger and here she was stroking his hair. But she couldn't stop herself. There was just something about the color that intrigued her.

"Misao are you okay?" Karou said cutting into her thoughts.

Misao blinked a couple of times and turned to look at Karou. She realized that she still had his hair in her hands so she quickly let go.

"I'm fine. Sorry for zoning out." she said. "Sorry about the hair thing."

Kenshin nodded his head in acceptance of her apology. Still, Misao couldn't shake the slight feeling that it wasn't okay.

"So, is the color real?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry to do this but I really need to go. How about we have lunch or dinner sometime?"

"That's fine with me." Karou said. "Kenshin?"

"Yes."

"Karou'll set it up sometime."

And I'll make sure I'm busy that day, Misao added silently. For some reason Kenshin gave off weird vibes that made her extremely edgy. Misao waved goodbye and then walked off. She suddenly stopped walking and turned around to watch Kenshin and Karou walking away. As if he felt her watching him, Kenshin turned around and looked at her. Misao's breath caught in her throat. The Kenshin she was seeing wasn't the Kenshin she had just met. He was wearing some weird clothes that looked like they belonged in a different time and he was carrying a sword. The biggest difference was his scar and eyes. The scar on his cheek was gone and his eyes were a cold amber color. Misao shivered slightly under his gaze. She closed her eyes for a second and then opened them. She was shocked to see that Kenshin wasn't even looking at her.

_Forget a vacation Makimachi, you need a shrink.  
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Misao Mei Mei-- :D He's a vampire. Yes, it's Aoshi/Misao.  
ExspiredJing-- Thank you for the compliment. Here's more. I can't tell you why he wants to kill her, but hr has MANY good reasons. I haven't written it yet but the next chapter will probably begin to touch on why he hates her.  
Mariana-chan-- : ) Here's the next chapter. He wants her dead. Who stabbed them is kind of hard question to explain. Misao did it, or part of her did. Think of Misao as having two sides. One side knows exactly what's going on but the knowledge is buried so deep inside that it's almost like it isn't there. And the other side knows nothing, she doesn't understand why strange things are happening to her. Now when Aoshi got into her mind, the clueless side takes it as a dream and just runs with it. But the other side knows exactly what's going on and decides to do something about it. And as you can see that side of Misao isn't exactly happy about how clueless she is.  
signourney-- Thank you. I'll try to hurry. But as you can see from the dates, I'm extremely slow.  
AAR-- Thanks for reading. Aoshi will skirt the line between good and evil. But who said Misao was innocent?  
An Avid Reader-- :D Here's the update. Sorry I took so long.  
indigochipmunk-- Thanks. Here's a new chapter, even if it's close to being two years late. :)  
Engel Star 13-- : ) Will wonders never cease? It looks like I do have another chapter in me. Not only that but I have a renewed interest in this story so I've begun working on it again. There should be more soon.  
lollipop313 -- Thanks. Here's more.  
Kyia Star-- Thank you. Here's the update.  
Jenny E.-- I didn't mean to confuse you. Yes he can. Basically, he's just projecting an image of himself into her mind, except he can cause actual damage in this state. I honestly don't know how to explain without confusing you further. The closest thing I can think of to describe what Aoshi is doing is Freddy Kreuger. Technically it's a dream but what happens there is real. The main difference is that what Aoshi does in the "dream" doesn't show up in the waking world. For example, if he was to slash her across the stomach in the dream, the slash wouldn't show on her psychical body. Anyone looking at her would just think she's sleeping or zoning out. I don't know if that explained anything. I think I may have confused myself.  
Sakura Star-- Thank you. :D Even if he does fall for her that doesn't mean he still won't kill her. People kill people they love all the time. Misao stabbed them.  
MoonPhoenix-- Thank you. I've never written anything like this before. I never make bets that I possibly will lose. He could already be in love with her. :D All that hate that he has toward her has to come from somewhere.  
tesuka- chan-- Thanks for warning me about the rating. I changed it and hopefully nothing else I write will be more than the M rating. Thanks for pointing out the errors. Hopefully I caught all of them in this chapter. Yes Aoshi is a vampire. He's a bad guy but not completely. I see him more as standing in the gray area between bad guy and good guy.  
fae-crazed-- Here's a new part. Hope you like it.  
HEY!-- Thanks. :D  
Aryanne-- I'm glad you like it. Aoshi is a vampire. Sorry that it's taken me so long to update.  
unfortunately back in school -- Sorry for the confusion. Yes it's an AU.


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